Vise and clamp



(NoModeL) J. BRADY.

Vise and. Clamp.

No. 228,245. Pate nted June I, 1880. I

.Fiy. 3.

I J72 2/6 m le W.- 30mm 6Y0; 1 M40012.

UNTTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JAMES BRADY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

VISE AND CLAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,245, dated June 1, 1880.

Application filed March 12, 1880. No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES BRADY, of Brooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vises and Glamps,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to adjustable jaws for vises or clamps, and its main object is to provide I a simple attachable and detachable gripin g-face for ordinary vise-jaws, which, when attached, will be capable of a tilting, swiveling, or rolling movement, to adapt itself to a broad and curved, and is fitted with one, two, or more plate-springs, ff, which are fixed at one end to the block and at the opposite end to the vise-jaw, so that the block, while being thus attached to the vise-jaw, is capable of rolling or tilting thereon from side to side, so that its griping-facc will adjust itself to an even hearing upon the piece (I, of taper or other form, which may be placed in the vise, thus enabling pieces of irregular form to be held as firmly as those of regular form.

The griping-face of the block may be smooth,

even bearing upon pieces of a taper or irregir or it may be roughened or be otherwise formed lar form that may be placed in the vise, and which may also be readily removed from the vise-jaw when not required.

To these ends the chief features of my invention may be stated to consist in an adjustable gripingface formed of a tilting, swiveling, or rolling block connected with or hinged upon the vise-jaw by a yielding spring or springs, which admit of the tilting movement of the block, while serving to hold it on the vise-jaw; also, in an attachable and removable tilting block having its attaching-base fitted with a spring or springs adapted to elastically clasp the vise-jaw and hold the blockthereon in a secure yet readily removable manner, as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure 1 of the drawings annexed presents a plan view of a simple or conventional form of vise provided with my adjustable griping face and holding a piece of taper form. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 illustrate modifications. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the base of the tilting block in Fig. 1 removed.

In the drawings, it indicates the fixed jaw of the vise, and b the movable jaw, which may be moved to or from the other by any suitable means, according to the character of the vise.

My improved adjustable griping-face may be applied to either jaw of the vise, and con;

sists of a tilting block, A, (shown in section in Fig. 1,) which is mounted on the vise-jaw, so that the work cl inserted between the jaws is held between the griping-faoe of the block and the opposite jaw of the vise.

In the leading form of my invention (shown in Fig. 1) the base of the tilting block is to grasp the work, and the block may be made of soft metal or of hard metal, or of wood or I other material, according to the kind of work which it is intended to hold and the form of vise to which it is applied.

I generally prefer to connect the tilting block to the vise-jaw by two springs, as illustrated, one being placed over the other, and each extending in opposite directions, with their opposite ends fixed, respectively, to each end of the block and to each side or endof the vise-jaw, so that these springs, while normally holding the tilting block centrally in the vise and parallel with the opposite jaw, yet will readily yield to allow the block to roll or tilt one way or the other to adapt itself to the shape of the article inserted. One spring only, arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may, however, be used when desired.

The curved face of the block is recessed with a broad groove, m, in which the springs are arranged, and this groove is preferably shallower than the thickness of the springs, so that when the vise-jaws are tightened on the work the pressure will bear upon the grooved part of the blocks and upon the springs, forcing the latter tightly against the vise-jaw, and thus rendering the connection more firm. The groove may, however, be deeper than the springs, so that the pressure will cause the block to bear upon the vise-jaw at its projectin g marginal edges on either side of the groove; or, on the other hand, the groove may be of a depth equal to the thickness of the springs, so that the pressure will be distributed evenly over the several parts referred to.

In a vise having a thin jaw of the kind shown in the drawings, the free ends of the yielding or hinging springs ff of the hinging or tilting block A may be curved back upon themselves, forming elastic loops or clasps, which may be readily slipped over the edges of the vise-jaw, so as to hold the adjustable block therein by a simple elastic grasp, which, while being sufficiently secure to enable the block to perform all its necessary functions, yet allows the block to be readily removed when desired, thus presenting an important advantage of my invention. In the more common form of vise, however, having thick heavy jaws, the ends of the hinging-springs may be bent at right angles, as seen in Fig. 3, and attached to the ends or edges of the vise-jaw by pins or by screws passed through holes in the springs and inserted in holes bored in the vise-jaw. My im proved device may also be made in the modified forms shown in Figs. 4 and 5. 111 Fig. 4 the tilting block or griping-face is connected by a ball-and-socketjoint to an intermediate base-plate, g, which is attached to the vise-jaw by elastic clasping-springs f f in a similar manner to the first form. The ball-and-socket joint of the tilting block allows, as will be observed, auniversal swiveling movement, which enables the griping-face to accommodate itself to irregularities of form in either a vertical or horizontal direction. In Fig. 5 the tilting block is flat on both sides, and rocks on the curved face of an intermediate base-plate, h, with which it is connected by hinging-springs f f in an equivalent manner to the first form, and this base-plate has overturned lugs t t, to embrace the ends of the vise-jaw, to which it may be clamped by thumb-screws k k, as illustrated.

It will now be observed that my improved adjustable vise-jaw or griping-face forms both a simple and eflicient device for its purpose, and constitutes an independent attachment for ordinary use jaws which may be readily applied to or removed therefrom, as occasion may require, thus presenting many practical advantages. My improved attachments may hence be made in different sizes and modified in their details, as before described, to suit the various sizes and kinds of vises in use.

It may be further observed that my device has the additional advantage over the class of removable vise-jaw attachments to which it belongs in that the clasping-springs of my device render the attachment and detachment of the adjustable jaw more convenient than is the case with former detachable jaws of this class.

While, however, my invention chiefly contemplates a removable attachment for visejaws, still the same device may be embodied in a vise-jaw as a permanent part thereof without departing from the main feature of my invention.

I am aware that an adjustable vise-jaw attachment has been heretofore formed in which an adjustable block is pivoted centrally to a band of steel which fits over the visejaw and is hooked at one end to engage with a bead formed on the vise-jaw for that purpose; but this is quite distinct from my invention, in that the'adjusrable block in my device has a rolling motion on the vise-jaw instead of a pivotal motion on a pin, and in that my adjustable block is hinged on and secured to the visejaw by a yielding spring which bends with the tilting or rolling motion of the block, whereas in the former case the pivoted block is simply sustained on the vise-jaw by the said steel strip, which is not a spring or does not yield with the motion of the block, and, furthermore, requires a special fitting of the vise-jaw to receive it, whereas the preferred form of my device requires no fitting of the vise-jaw to receive the attachment.

What I claim as my invention is 1. An adjustable gripingface for vise-jaws, consisting of a tilting block hinged upon the vise-jaw by a yielding spring, which yields or bends in the direction of motion of the block, and thereby admits of the tilting or hinging movement of the block, and at the same time serves to hold the block in position, substantiall y as herein set forth.

2. An adjustable griping-face for visejaws, consisting of an attachable and removable tilting block having its attaching-base titted with a spring loop or clasp at either of its tilting ends, formed to elastically grasp either end of the vise-jaw and temporarily retain the tilting block thereon without requiring any fitting or alteration of the visejaw, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. An adjustable griping-face for vise-jaws, consisting of a curved tilting block having its curved base fitted with one or more springs connected at one end to the end of the block and at the opposite end to the vise-jaw, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES BRADY.

Witnesses:

EDWARD H. WALES, CHAS. M. HIGGINS. 

